Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1887-08-12
FARM AMP GARDEN.
BAD BRINE IN PORK BARRELS.

The pork barrel needs close watching
In summer. Any impurity. however
slight. rapidly spreads, just as yeast
will, and it quickly taints the meat.
Wash every piece and boil the brine to
remove all impurities, though as salt is
cheap it is better in most cases TO re-
pack in new brine and throw the old
away.
DESTROYING BUSHES.
Any time after bushes are in full leaf
is good for cutting them down with
view of destroying them. This is
usually recommended for August, but at
this late date the buds will often start
in Spring. If cut now, what sprouts
starts may be etlcctually destroyed by
leaving the brush over them to dry and
burning it a month later.
KEEPING SUMMER BUTTER.
There is not so much good Summer
butter made as formerly. 1t it is diff
cult to get it good enough to retain its
flavor until Winter. The more enter
prising farmers use creameries for
butter making, but the butter from
whose cream has never soured does
not keep well as that made in the old
fashioned way from sitting the cream
in pans, 1t requires more care to make
good butter by the old-fashioned pro-
cess. but the butter is enough better TO
pay for it.
Trimmings OF BETS FOR GREENS.
1t is almost impossible to plant beets
so they will not need thinning. A large
proportion of the seed are double, and
will make two plants where one would
be better. But the thinning of beets,
unlike those of other vegetables, are
valuable. They make del cious gre ems,
and to most liking the beet is never
quite so good as when young and cook
ed root and top together. What are
not wanted for the table are equally
relished by sows and pigs, for which
they make an excellent food.
ALsIKE CLOVER.
Farmers who are growing alsike for
the first time need to be reminded that.
unlike red clover, it bears seed in the
first crop of blossoms. 1t is customa-
~. therefore, to let it get rather more
advanced before cutting, to save the
seed. But if cut Just as it comes into
bloom some of the heads will ripen
their seed. There is no second crop.
alsike being a biennial. and dying
after cutting the second year of its
growth. 1t is necessary, therefore, to
plow as soon as possible after the al
sike is of, or weeds will fill the vacan-
ces it has left.
TIMOTHY IN FLOWER.
Most fal mers allow timothy TO be-
come too ripe before cutting, under
the impression that its seed is very nu-
iritious. Even if it were, its amount is
not sufficient TO make it worth consid-
ing and more than all that is gained
in the seed is lost in the woody charac-
ter of the straw. But if timothy has
got in full bloom it is best to let this
drop off before cutting, as it makes the
hay very dusty. The proper time to
cut timothy is as soon as the head APP
pears, before it gets into bloom. Its
weight is then less, but the quality of
the hay is enough better to Offset the
deficiencies in quantity.
VACANT sPAtEs IN HoED CROPS.
There is always more or less loss
from missed hills in corn and potatoes.
If there were not the yield of these
crops would average better than it
does. If the vacancies are seen early
enough replanting with the same crop
is the best policy. but even up to the
10th of July there is chance 10 plant in
hill Of beans or cabbage if the soil
is rich enough, which will be worth
nearly as much as the original plant
would have been if il had not failed.
1t does not pay to plant corn in thus
late, as it will not ear or ripen, and
will only make extra labor in handling
stalks when husking.
CHERRY TREES IN GRASS.
The cherry tree needs dry soil and
if in grass the crop is none the worse,
though the grass should be kept low
by pasturing or with the scythe, for
convenience in getting around among
the trees TO harvest the fruit. We
have seen some places where the cherry
crop seemed to be injured by removal
Of the sod from under the trees The
fruit was wormy and poor 1t was
not loss of fertility that caused this diff
ference. for a thin skimming of sod
could not make the soil much, if any,
poorer. But it did make the soil around
the trees much wetter in early Spring,
and this probably is what injured the
fruit
HUNGARIAN GRASS.
Many farmers have got in the habit
of supplementing deficient hay crop.
by sowing Hungarian grass or millet